North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer has raised serious concerns about Elon Musk’s growing influence over national security and military communications infrastructure.
Cramer’s remarks came after Ukraine was blindsided by a disruption to a satellite communications service developed by Musk’s SpaceX, raising alarm among lawmakers.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk personally ordered a slowdown of the military-grade version of the Starlink satellite network that Ukraine relies on in its war with Russia.
Musk issued the order on October 14, limiting the speeds at which Ukrainian drones could maintain a stable satellite connection during active combat operations.
The restrictions disrupted both offensive Ukrainian drone operations and efforts to intercept incoming Russian attacks, according to officials familiar with the matter.
Cramer expressed concern that the United States and its allies had become dangerously dependent on a single private company for critical wartime communications.
The senator warned that “we’re putting too many eggs in one company’s basket,” signaling unease about the concentration of military-grade infrastructure in private hands.
Cramer also called for a formal congressional investigation into the circumstances surrounding the Starlink slowdown and who ultimately authorized the decision.
“I certainly support investigating what was the source of that decision, if in fact it was a decision at all,” Cramer said, making clear he wants answers from both Musk and military officials.
Cramer left open the possibility that the disruption may not have been deliberate, stating, “It may very well have been some sort of a technical glitch, I don’t know for sure.”
The incident has intensified broader debate in Washington about the risks of relying on privately owned satellite networks, controlled by a single billionaire, for wartime military operations.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now grappling with how to establish clearer oversight and accountability over SpaceX’s role in supporting allied military forces abroad.
